2. Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings
that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their
gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the
origins and significance of their own cult and ritual
practices. It was a part of the religion in ancient
Greece. Modern scholars refer to and study the myths
in an attempt to throw light on the religious and
political institutions of Ancient Greece and its
civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of
myth-making itself. Greek myth attempts to explain
the origins of the world, and details the lives and
adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses,
heroes, heroines and mythological creatures.
3. In Ancient Greek religion Hestia is a virgin goddess of
the hearth, ancient Greek architecture, and the right
ordering of domesticity, the family, and the state.
Hestia is a goddess of the first Olympian generation,
along with Demeter and Hera. She was a daughter of
Rhea and Cronus, and sister to Zeus, Poseidon,
Demeter, Hera, and Hades. Immediately after their
birth, Cronus swallowed all but the last and youngest,
Zeus, who forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings and
led them in a war against their father Her Roman
equivalent is Vesta.
4. In ancient Greek religion and myth,
Demeter is the goddess of the
harvest, who presided over grains and
the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles
include the giver of food or grain and
Thesmophoros (divine order, unwritten
law), "Law-Bringer," as a mark of the
civilized existence of agricultural
society.
Though Demeter is often described
simply as the goddess of the harvest,
she presided also over the sacred law,
and the cycle of life and death. She and
her daughter Persephone were the
central figures of the Eleusinian
Mysteries that predated the Olympian
pantheon. Her Roman equivalent is
Ceres.
5. Hera is the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian
pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was
as the goddess of women and marriage. The cow, lion and the
peacock were considered sacred to her. Hera's mother is Rhea and
her father Cronus. Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful
nature against Zeus's lovers and offspring, but also against mortals
who crossed her. Paris also earned Hera's hatred by choosing
Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess. Her counterpart in the
religion of ancient Rome was Juno.
6. Hades was the ancient Greek god of the underworld.
Eventually, the god's name came to designate the abode of the
dead. In Greek mythology, Hades is the oldest male child of
Cronus and Rhea considering the order of birth from the mother,
or the youngest, considering the regurgitation by the father.
According to myth, he and his brothers Zeus and Poseidon
defeated their father and claimed rulership over the cosmos,
ruling the underworld, air, and sea, respectively; the solid earth,
long the province of Gaia, was available to all three
concurrently.
7. Poseidon is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the
pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain is the
ocean, and he is called the "God of the Sea".
Additionally, he is referred to as "Earth-Shaker" due to
his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the
"tamer of horses". He is usually depicted as an older
male with curly hair and beard. His symbols are
Tridents, Fish, Dolphins, Horses and Bulls.
8. Zeus is the "Father of Gods and men who rules
the Olympians of Mount Olympus, according to the
ancient Greek religion. He is the god of sky and
thunder in Greek mythology. Zeus is
etymologically cognate with and, under Hellenic
influence, became particularly closely identified
with Roman Jupiter. Zeus is the child of Cronus
and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most
traditions he is married to Hera, but he is known
for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many
godly and heroic offspring, including Athena,
Apollo, Artemis, Hermes. By Hera, he is usually
said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.
9. Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian
deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and
Roman mythology. Apollo has been variously recognized as a god
of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music,
poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a
twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. In the classical period of
Greek mythology, was often described as the daughter of Zeus
and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic
goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth,
virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving
disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a
bow and arrows. The dear and the cypress were sacred to her.
10. Athena or Athene often given the epithet
Pallas, is the goddess of wisdom, courage,
inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic
war, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts,
crafts, and skill in ancient Greek religion and
mythology. Minerva is the Roman goddess
identified with Athena.
Athena is portrayed as a shrewd companion of
heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic
endeavour. She is the virgin patroness of Athens.
The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the
Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens, in her
honour.
11. Hephaestus is the Greek god of blacksmiths,
craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire
and volcanoes. Hephaestus' Roman equivalent is Vulcan.
In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and
Hera, the king and queen of the gods. As a smithing god,
Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in
Olympus. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and
was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial
centers of Greece, particularly Athens. The cult of
Hephaestus was based in Lemnos. Hephaestus' symbols
are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs.
12. Hermes is an Olympian god in Greek religion and
mythology, son of Zeus and Maia. He is second youngest
of the Olympian gods.
Hermes is a god of transitions and boundaries. He is
quick and cunning, and moves freely between the worlds
of the mortal and divine, as emissary and messenger of
the gods, intercessor between mortals and the divine,
and conductor of souls into the afterlife. He is protector
and patron of travelers, herdsmen, thieves, orators and
wit, literature and poets, athletics and sports, invention
and trade. In some myths he is a trickster, and outwits
other gods for his own satisfaction or the sake of
humankind. His attributes and symbols include the
herma, the rooster and the tortoise, purse or pouch,
winged sandals, winged cap, and his main symbol is the
herald's staff, the Greek kerykeion which consisted of
two snakes wrapped around a winged staff.
13. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and
procreation. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. She is
identified with the planet Venus. Because of her beauty, other gods
feared that their rivalry over her would interrupt the peace among
them and lead to war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who,
because of his ugliness and deformity, was not seen as a threat.
Aphrodite had many lovers—both gods, such as Ares, and men. Her
symbols are Dolphins, Roses, Scallop Shells, Myrtles, Doves,
Sparrows, Girdles, Mirrors, and Swans.
14. Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians,
and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often
represents the physical or violent and untamed aspect of war, in
contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of
intelligence include military strategy and generalship. The Greeks
were ambivalent toward Ares: although he embodied the physical
valor necessary for success in war, he was a dangerous force,
“overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-
slaughterin”. His sons Fear and Terror and his lover, or sister,
Discord accompanied him on his war chariot. His value as a war god
is placed in doubt: during the Trojan War, Ares was on the losing
side, while Athena, often depicted in Greek art as holding Nike
(Victory) in her hand, favored the triumphant Greeks.
